Utility meters are used to keep track of electricity, gas and water usages for individual residential and business premises. The amount of electricity, gas and water consumed by a residential or business consumer over a predefined period of time can be determined by reading the associated utility meters at the end of that time period. As an example, the amount of electricity and gas consumed by a customer over a particular month can be determined by reading the electric and gas meters at the end of that particular month. The meter readings are used to compute the electric, gas and water bills for the predefined period of time.
The traditional method for obtaining these meter readings at the end of each predefined period of time involves visually reading the meters in person for each customer and recording the meter readings on paper or on an electronic device. The recorded meter readings are then processed to generate utility bills, which are mailed to the customers.
A concern with the traditional method for obtaining meter readings is that a large number of meter readers is needed to visually read each utility meter in person at the end of a predefined period of time. In addition, since the utility meters are personally read and the meters readings are manually entered on paper or on an electronic device, the method introduces potential human errors, which would create discrepancies between the actual consumption of electricity, gas or water for a predefined period of time and the associated bill. Furthermore, the method does not provide any record of the actual meter readings, except for the manually entered meter readings, which could be used in evaluating performances of meter readers or in verifying certain utility bills.
In order to partly alleviate these concerns, Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technologies have been developed to automate the method for obtaining meter readings at the end of each predefined period of time. An AMR technology employs a meter interface unit, which automatically extracts meter information and transmits the meter information to a data collection device. The meter interface unit may be attached to an existing utility meter or integrated into a new utility meter. In one type of AMR systems, the data collection device may be mounted on a vehicle or carried by a meter reader so that the data collection device can be moved into the transmission range for a particular utility meter with the meter interface unit to receive wirelessly transmitted meter information. In another type of AMR systems, the data collection device may be located at a centralized facility, where the meter information from different meters are received via a communication network, which may be wireless.
Although the AMR systems alleviate some of the concerns of the traditional method for obtaining meter readings, the AMR systems also do not provide any record of the actual meter readings, except for the information provided by the meter interface units.
In view of this concern, there is a need for a system and method for collecting meter readings in a way that provides physical record of the actual meter reading.